Mathilda May

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title: "Mathilda May" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1965-births", "living-people", "20th-century-french-actresses", "20th-century-french-sephardi-jews", "21st-century-french-actresses", "21st-century-french-sephardi-jews", "actresses-from-paris", "conservatoire-de-paris-alumni", "french-film-actresses", "french-people-of-greek-jewish-descent", "french-people-of-swedish-descent", "french-people-of-turkish-jewish-descent", "french-television-actresses", "jewish-french-actresses", "most-promising-actress-césar-award-winners"] description: "French actress (born 1965)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathilda_May" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary French actress (born 1965) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
image	Mathilda May Cannes 2010.jpg
caption	May in 2010
birthname	Karin Haïm
birth_date
birth_place	Paris, France
education	Conservatoire de Paris
years_active	1984-present
spouse	{{ubl
Sly Johnson{{cite magazine	last
children	2
father	Victor Haïm
::

| image = Mathilda May Cannes 2010.jpg | caption = May in 2010 | birthname = Karin Haïm | birth_date = | birth_place = Paris, France | death_date = | death_place = | education = Conservatoire de Paris | years_active = 1984-present | spouse = {{ubl | | | | Sly Johnson}} | children = 2 | father = Victor Haïm Mathilda May (born Karin Haïm; 8 February 1965) is a French film actress and director. Her most well-known turns include the roles of Space Girl in Lifeforce (1985) and Jeanne Gardella in Toutes peines confondues (1992).

May's film work is primarily in French and made for the European market. She was the recipient of the César Award for Most Promising Actress in 1988 for her role in Le Cri du Hibou (The Cry of the Owl) and the Romy Schneider Prize for best up and coming actress in 1989. In 1992, she also recorded an album called Joy of Love. May was the writer and director for the theater show Open Space, which ran from 2013 to 2015.

Early life

May was born in Paris, France. Her father, the playwright, screenwriter, and actor Victor Haïm, is of Sephardic Jewish (Greek and Turkish) descent. Her mother is the Swedish ballet teacher and choreographer Margareta Hanson. May studied under Christiane Vaussard at the Conservatoire de Paris, graduating at age 16.

Career

May's film work is primarily in French and made for the European market. She was the recipient of the César Award for Most Promising Actress in 1988 and the Prix Romy Schneider in 1989. Non-French films she has appeared in include Naked Tango (1990), Becoming Colette (1991), and The Tit and the Moon (1994). In the United States, she is best-known for her role as an alien vampire in the Tobe Hooper science fiction/horror-film Lifeforce (1985), in which she is naked for most of her performance. She also appeared in the 1996 space adventure game Privateer 2: The Darkening. She played Isabella in The Jackal, a 1997 action film.

May recorded an album in 1992 called Joy of Love.

May was the writer and director for the theater show Open Space, which was performed in the Théâtre Jean-Vilar in the commune of Suresnes, the Théâtre du Rond-Point, and the Théâtre de Paris from 2013 to 2015. Open Space was a show without words; the story was presented by movement, music, and sound. May said of the show "[i]t will be choreographed without it being dance, and musical without an instrument".

Personal life

May has been married four times. Her first husband was Paul Powell. Her second husband was Gérard Darmon, with whom she has two children, a daughter and a son. Her third husband was Philippe Kelly. Her fourth husband was Sly Johnson.

Filmography

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1984	Nemo	Alice
1985	Lifeforce	Space Girl
Les Rois du gag	Alexandra
1987	La vie dissolue de Gérard Floque	Pauline
The Cry of the Owl	Juliette		César Award for Most Promising Actress
1988	La passerelle	Cora Elbaz
Three Seats for the 26th	Marion
1990	Naked Tango	Alba/Stéphanie
1991	Isabelle Eberhardt	Isabelle Eberhardt
Scream of Stone	Katharina
Becoming Colette	Sidonie Gabrielle Colette
1992	Toutes peines confondues	Jeanne Gardella
1994	Le voleur et la menteuse	Suzanne Henson
Dead Tired	Herself
The Tit and the Moon	Estrellita
1996	Celluloide	Cameo
1997	The Jackal	Isabella Zanconia
1999	Entrevue	Alix		Short
2000	Là-bas... mon pays	Nelly Azera
2004	Love Express	Anne-Charlotte
2007	New délire	Fanny's voice
A Girl Cut in Two	Capucine Jamet	(2)
2012	The Players	Ariane
2019	Je ne rêve que de vous	Cora Madou
2021	Le Chemin du bonheur	Sarah Glücksmann
::

Television

::data[format=table title=""]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Giorno dopo giorno		TV series
1986	Les louves	Agnès	Miniseries
Se un giorno busserai alla mia porta		TV film
1988	The Secret of the Sahara	Myriam	Miniseries
Piazza Navona	Jeanne	Episode 6
L'heure Simenon	Edmée	Episode 10
1994	The Whipping Boy	Betsy	TV film
1996	Noces cruelles	Sandra	TV film
La ferme du crocodile	Sandrine Jaussier	TV film
1998	Only Love	Silvia Rinaldi	TV film
2000	Les redoutables	Military woman	Episode 6
2001	De toute urgence	Julie	TV film
Caméra Café	The Boss's wife	1 episode
2002	Fabio Montale	Hélène Pessayre	2 episodes
Perlasca – Un eroe Italiano	Contessa Eleonora	TV film
2003	Soyez prudents...		TV film
Soraya		TV film
2005	L'homme pressé	Irène Debord	TV film
L'homme qui voulait passer à la télé	Mélanie	TV film
2009	Au siècle de Maupassant	Thérèse de Marsanne	1 episode
2010	Les nuits d'Alice	Angélique	TV film
2011	Une vie française	Anna Blick	TV film
2012	Clash	Laure Rossignol	3 episodes
2013	La croisière	Françoise	1 episode
Délit de fuite	Cécile	TV film
2014	Crossing Lines	Audrey St. Marie	1 episode
2015	On se retrouvera	Hélène Janson	TV film
2016	Mystère à l'Opéra	Éva Fontaine	TV film
2018	Access	Valérie Couderq	11 episodes
2020	Coup de foudre à Bangkok	Sandrine Lafore	TV film
2023	Daron	Coco
::

Video Games

::data[format=table title=""]

Year	Title	Notes
1996	Privateer 2: The Darkening	Melissa Banks
::

Awards and accolades

• The César Award (the national film award of France): 1988 Best Young Female Newcomer for The Cry of the Owl
• The 1989 Romy Schneider Award
• The 2019 Molliere for Best Director of a Public Theatre Show for The Wedding Banquet
• The 2020 Molliere for Best Solo Performance for her production of Monsieur X starring Pierre Richard at the Théâtre de l’Atelier.
• The 2020 SACD (Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques) for Best Director*

References

References

1. Ouadhi, Sonia. (2022-02-08). "Mathilda May fête ses 57 ans : qui est son compagnon le chanteur Sly Johnson ?".
2. May, Mathilda. (2018). "V.O.". [[Plon (publisher).
3. C.R.I.S, Association. "Actualités de Victor Haïm, actualités, textes, spectacles, vidéos, tous ses liens avec la scène - theatre-contemporain.net". theatre-contemporain.net (in French).
4. (15 January 2008). "CV de stars: Mathilda May".
5. (2016-01-29). "Mathilda May : "je renoue avec moi-même"".
6. "The Cry of the Owl (translated from French)".
7. "Mathilda May – Album Discography".
8. "Mathilda May – Mathilda May".
9. Blanchard, Sandrine. (16 October 2013). "La petite entreprise de Mathilda May". [[Le Monde]].
10. Patricelli, Sonia. (9 June 2015). "Mathilda May, dans l'enfer de l'open space". [[France 24]].
11. (24 April 2015). "A ne pas rater : Open Space, le spectacle burlesque mis en scène par Mathilda May".
12. (2013-10-10). "Open Space".
13. "Le Banquet - Théâtre de Paris {{!}} THEATREonline".
14. Palmares 1987 - 2023.docx (lesmolieres.com)
15. (2020-06-12). "La SACD dévoile les 35 lauréats des Prix SACD 2020".

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